PARIS ¨C Staff at the Eiffel Tower walked out on strike on Wednesday in a dispute over lengthening lines at the Paris landmark, forcing it to close during the peak summer tourist season.
Talks between the CGT trade union and the tower¡¯s management over a new access system ¡ª which according to workers was responsible for ¡°monstrous¡± lines of visitors ¡ª reached deadlock on Wednesday afternoon, and the site closed at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT).
It was not clear whether the strike would continue on Thursday.
The new system, which from July has reserved separate lifts for different types of ticket-holders, was exhausting staff who had to deal with the frustrated tourists, union officials said.
The site¡¯s management has said the summer months were always busy.
Each year over 6 million tourists go up the 342-metre (1,063-foot) tower, the French capital¡¯s most famous attraction.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.